Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Middle Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee hears bill to authorize middle housing in unincorporated urban growth areas and limited rural 'lammers'
Summary
Senate Bill 5471 would require counties planning under the Growth Management Act to allow middle‑housing types on lots zoned for single‑family housing within designated urban growth areas and certain limited rural areas; supporters said the bill expands housing options while proponents urged technical clarifications on appeals, water and sewer.
Senate Bill 5471, which would authorize middle housing in unincorporated urban growth areas (UGAs), limited areas of more intensive rural development (LAMERS) and fully contained communities, was subject to a Jan. 31 public hearing before the Senate Housing Committee.
Ben (staff) briefed the committee that middle housing includes duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhouses, stacked flats and cottage housing and that the bill would require counties planning under the Growth Management Act to authorize at least one middle‑housing unit on each parcel that permits single‑family residences in designated UGAs. “For the purposes of the GMA, middle housing is defined as buildings compatible in scale, form, and character with single family houses and contain two or more attached, stacked, or clustered homes,” staff said.
Sponsor Senator Keith Gaynor (12th District) said the measure expands housing opportunities in rural and unincorporated areas where housing supply is limited. County officials, builders and planning advocates testified in support, saying the bill provides tools to increase housing diversity near existing population centers and in small, unincorporated towns.
Brian Enslow of the Washington State Association of Counties and representatives of the Master Builders Association and FutureWise urged adjustments on appeal protections, sewer and water requirements, and drafting to ensure the bill’s UGA and LAMER provisions align with existing state water‑mitigation rules. “Counties want to help with the housing crisis,” Enslow said; FutureWise and others asked for targeted tweaks to ensure protections for forested resource lands and for metering/mitigation of new water demand.
Supporters said middle housing offers more housing choices and can be used to keep workers near jobs in resource and tourism economies. The committee took testimony and closed the hearing on SB 5471; no vote occurred at the Jan. 31 meeting.
Speakers quoted or referenced in this article: Ben (staff) (Senate committee staff); Senator Keith Gaynor (sponsor, 12th District); Brian Enslow (Washington State Association of Counties); Alex Herr (Master Builders Association); Bryce Yaden (FutureWise); Mindy Brooks (Lewis County).
